The Internal Revenue Service and the Louisiana Department of Resources warn that small non-profits that have not filed forms in the past three years must re-certify its tax-exempt status by Oct. 15, or lose it.

Any Louisiana-based non-profits that lose their federal tax-exempt status will also lose their tax-exempt status under Louisiana's tax code. Thousands of local non-profits are at risk -- the list for Louisiana on the www.irs.gov website is 175 pages long.

Non-profits that lose their tax-exempt status will have to re-apply with the IRS to regain it, and any income received between the revocation date and the renewed exemption may be taxable.